About

My name, for the purposes of this blog, is JC. I’m an English woman, living in Canada, teetering on the outer edge of my twenties who has just fallen arse-first into her thirties.

Hello!

When I first moved to Vancouver on a working holiday visa back in 2009, I jumped at every opportunity I got to explore my new home. Fearing I would only be allowed to stay for a year, I trawled the Georgia Straight for event listings, and salacious relationship advice from Dan Savage. Took advantage of functions put on for fellow working holiday makers. Pored over maps and Greyhound schedules for places to travel. And I loved it.

Four years on and I’m now a permanent resident, married to a Canadian, with an “artistically tempermented” dog in tow. Life is good, but undeniably slower. The novelty of a new city quickly wears off, and, in its place, routine sets in. Gradually our evenings became characterised by post-work Netflix marathons, and I started to spend an inordinate amount of time lurking on sites like Reddit and Buzzfeed. Instant gratification sites, that keep you abreast of all the quirky, creative, wonderful things that other people are doing. People who aren’t you. One day I was sharing the details of something bizarre that I’d read online with some coworkers, when one of them exclaimed, “You’re always sending me these crazy links. I think you need to get a new hobby!”

It was said jokingly. A brief comment in passing, which I doubt anyone other than me gave a second thought to. But it struck a chord. I’d slipped into a cozy little rut, and was probably doing untold damage to my retinas by staring a screen all day. I really did need to get a new hobby. Trouble is, which one?

I’ve never really been the type of person who sticks to hobbies for any great length of time. Perhaps this is why the internet holds such a draw for me. There is always something new to read, and the content matter is unimaginably diverse. But then it dawned on me. Why just stick to one hobby? If there is a rut to be climbed out of, why not make it easy for my novelty-craving psyche and instead make a habit of regularly exposing myself to new experiences which don’t involve sitting behind a computer?

And so I have decided that, starting on 1st January, 2014, I will try something new every week. This blog exists to document my experiences as they happen. Wish me luck!